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REGINALD LAVERY
I suppose that in a letter from the front you will expect to hear something about the war, but I am going to write about something of far more importance than the material side of the war; in fact I am going to write about something which makes war, even when you are in the thick of it, appear foolish and unreal, despite the so-called horrors which material sense tries to tell us are so apparent. After a few months' experience of the conditions out here, I think a good many people came to the conclusion that there is only one thing worth living for, only one thing worth thinking about, and that is God. Of course they have been forced to this conclusion, in a way, as a result of the terrible human experiences which they have been through. However, if men have advanced to such a state of spiritual understanding as this without the help of divine Science, you can draw your own conclusions as to what I have gained in understanding with that help. It would be useless for me to try to thank you in words for bringing to me the truth that summer many years ago, — I can only do this by demonstrating the truth which was taught. Thank God, I have been able to do that these last twelve months in France and have been rewarded a hundredfold, so that the seeds sown many years ago have indeed yielded a rich harvest. Not only once or twice have I proved the allness of God and the nothingness of evil, but on every occasion since I have been in the trenches have I proved God's omnipotent power, and believe me those occasions have been many. When you see great trees snapped off like a twig and hurled yards, when you see a whole house demolished by a single shell, when you see a great rent which would hold a thousand men torn in the ground by a mine, you begin to wonder what power there is in matter to help one to escape such destruction, and of course there is no power in the material world to help a man who is in such a strait. That is the turning point, when men turn from matter to Spirit, and man's extremity becomes God's opportunity. Above the mighty thunderings comes as the sound of many waters the unchallenged declaration, "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth." What a blessing to know that it is impossible for a man to be in any conceivable circumstance where God cannot help him, because if we do think this we are believing in a power opposed to God. It has been my privilege on many occasions, when right in the midst of these mighty thunderings, to be able to realize my at-one-ment with God, and so be conscious of that peace which passes human understanding. I cannot describe this peace, but it brings that calm and exalted thought which is undisturbed by all the testimony of the material senses. Sufficient is it for me to know that I always have it so long as I am conscious of that Mind "which was also in Christ Jesus," — always conscious of good, there is no need to fear. These promises from the Bible mean everything to me: "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Surely one cannot be fearful or discouraged in the face of such promises. However, it is necessary for us to give up all our material aims and ambitions and plans, and that ought not to be very hard, for most of them have been ghastly failures. When we can with confidence leave everything to God, and say with Jesus, "Not my will, but thine, be done," then we can rise above the din and discord of mortal strife in the knowledge that the battle is not ours but God's. There is no need then to worry and think about when the war will be over or how it will finish, or what we shall have to go through, or whether we shall be killed or wounded. These things have nothing to do with us, since as Mrs. Eddy tells us, "Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine" (Science and Health, p. 14). It is good to know that the all-seeing, all-acting, all-powerful Mind is guiding and governing our affairs every second of the day and night. What a glorious lesson it is this week on "Sacrament." I think this is my favorite lesson, although I suppose we ought not to have any favorites, as they are all so beautiful; but there is something in this subject which always appeals to me and takes me far out of the reach of material belief. How well do I remember this lesson at this time last year, about a week before we left for the front. I was sitting under a little tree one Sunday evening, just by Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain. There was a sublime sunset and marvelous cloud effects in the sky, and studying the lesson under such peaceful and beautiful conditions I indeed had a peep into that city described in Revelation. As I sat there in the shadow of stones that are the remains of a great altar upon which human sacrifices were offered by the Druids long centuries ago, so this week, twelve months afterward, have I studied the same lesson in the shadow of the remains of buildings which mark the place of a greater altar upon which the greatest human sacrifices have been offered — in Ypres. However, the divine Mind is not influenced by person, place, or thing, and although the conditions this year are about as ghastly as mortal mind could conceive, divine Love has shined through all and revealed even greater truths than last year. This experience reminds me of a verse in one of our hymns (Hymnal, p. 194) : —
Feast
after feast thus comes and passes by; What beautiful milestones we have in the Lesson-Sermons on this great and sublime journey from sense to Soul! We cannot take the wrong road if we always keep our eye single to the light. It is not always an easy path; very often there are swift currents to battle against, dark caves of mortal thought with all kinds of dangers and temptations lurking in the corners, high mountains of material sense to climb and overcome; but, whatever we may meet on this journey, we can rest assured that we will not meet anything which Christ Jesus has not met before us. "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." One cannot give too much importance to the words, "be of good cheer." If there is one thing which smashes the seeming reality of evil, it is cheerfulness; not the cheerfulness derived from material pleasures, which vanishes with the first approach of trouble, but the cheerfulness which is the outcome of high ideals and good works. This cheerfulness shines on as a beacon light, although perhaps surrounded by the most appalling human conditions. I remember during the winter months in the trenches toward the end of last year, and before we were equipped with the gum boots, we were days in the front line with the mud and water above our knees, and sometimes almost up to our waists; but amidst all this I was able to keep my mind so filled with thoughts of Truth and Love that I was hardly conscious of the material surroundings, and so was able to keep cheerful not only myself, but those about me as well. This is a great help to one's comrades, as they have nothing to help them and they look to you in every trouble. It is a beautiful position to be in, and you can fairly feel the good you have sent out return unto you tenfold when you see with what success you have helped them. I think this is the greatest reward a man can have, as it is the product of the greatest power in the world, the power of Love. As Paul said, the man who has not Love is as nothing. How true those words are! All the inventions of mortal mind which are now being made to destroy men, are really destroying themselves; no matter how terrible or monstrous or destructive they may seem to appear, they fade away into nothingness with the first appearance of Love. There is a place on a well-known road here that leads to the trenches, which is called "Hell Fire Corner." Well, when we are in ———— we have to pass this corner every night on fatigues and working parties. They always shell this corner some time during the night, and you do not know what second the shells are coming. When I get near this place, instead of thinking of it in this way and expecting shells every second, I always think of it as "Love's Corner," as I know Love is there as much as in any other place in the world; and there is no more of God in one place than another, as He fills all space; therefore there are no dangerous places for God's idea. It is beautiful what peace and comfort and what a sense of security I get if I realize this when passing such places. The same thing applies when I am in a listening post out in No-man's-land, just a few yards from the enemy line. I have been able to realize some of the most beautiful thoughts when in these situations. Surely to be able to call upon a power like this, which is master of all material conditions and circumstances, is to have the "pearl of great price," for which we may well work, watch, and pray, no matter what we meet here to go through with in order to attain it; then we shall indeed finish our course with joy, and receive that glorious reward promised in Revelation, — "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." What a glorious task we have before us, — what ideas of Mind there are still to be unfolded, how we may well work for that day when all peoples and nations shall recognize divine Mind as the only Mind, when man shall love his neighbor as himself, when all the ideas of Mind will be expressed in everything that is beautiful and good, when there is neither crying nor sorrow, nor any more pain, for all things will have become new. Thank God, we need not wait through long tedious years before we can enjoy these spiritual blessings, but we can begin here, right where we are, to enjoy them.
Christian Science Sentinel, September 29, 1917 |
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